Escobar Urges Belgrade, Pristina to Fully Implement Agreements Reached in Brussels

Gabriel Escobar

Senior U.S. Department of State official Gabriel Escobar said on Jan. 28, ahead of a visit to Pristina and Belgrade, that the U.S. urged both sides "to fully implement the agreements and commitments they made in Brussels."

Escobar, deputy assistant U.S. secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia and special representative for the Western Balkans, told the Pristina-based Reporteri website that "the government of Kosovo has made a commitment for the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities to exist."

"The United States has not and will not dictate what this [Association] should do or what its authorities should be. That's a sovereign decision for the Government of Kosovo. There are workable models available, including many that would allow for better local coordination without adding additional layers of government or executive power. We encourage the government of Kosovo to carefully consider these models," Escobar stated. He went on to say that the U.S. stressed that a final agreement would require both sides to reach a compromise, but that "no one is asking Kosovo to 'compromise' its sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Escobar said the purpose of his visit to Kosovo, where European Union special envoy for the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajcak and he are to stay from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, was to advance the EU-mediated dialog. He also said he would deliver the same message to his collocutors in Serbia, where he is slated to arrive on Feb. 2 -- that prioritizing the EU-mediated dialog is "the best way for leaders to deliver on their promises to their citizens."